Centre for Productivity and Efficiency

We are devoted to researching the measurement, analysis, management and improvement of productivity.

About this Centre

A core principle of our Centre’s work is that productivity must be understood at multiple levels: individual activities, firms, supply chains, sectors and localities. This is especially relevant in the development of place-specific industrial strategy and in harnessing digital technologies that have the potential to intimately link together firms in business networks and supply chains.

We also work closely with related LUMS productivity initiatives in Executive and Organisational Development and with the Work Foundation to maximise the impact of our research on practice and policy.

Our Mission

Our Research Themes

Our research activities incorporate several areas of productivity, industrial policy and supply chain productivity. Visit our publications to view the research produced by this centre.

Industrial Policy

Our focus is to make a sustained contribution to the development of industrial strategy or industrial policy in the UK and elsewhere. We seek to do so in part by examining the links between economic insights at policy level, and management insights at organisational level.

Our recent research in this area includes a paper in the Journal of Operations Management in February 2017, building on previous work by Alan Hughes and Martin Spring for the UK GO-Science Foresight ‘Future of Manufacturing’ project. This latest research examines the development of industrial policy thinking and the potential for greater engagement between operations managers and industrial policy initiatives in changing the institutional architecture in the UK and other developed economies. Read more here:

SME and Supply Chain Productivity

The Centre is building on LUMS’ long-standing expertise in working with SMEs in research projects and leadership programmes to develop survey and qualitative research in this area. We also work collaboratively with the Centre for Family Business on mutual research interests.

There is considerable evidence that aggregate productivity is undermined by the relatively low productivity of a ‘long tail’ of SMEs. A strong theme of our work is the relationship between large firms and the smaller firms in their supply chains, and we work with major Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and industry bodies such as the Northwest Aerospace Alliance.

Our research often sits alongside Executive and Organisational Development activities such as the Productivity through People programme, supported by BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and Siemens. We are also involved in a funded project on public contracting for innovation, and Chris Ford is conducting collaborative research on inter-organisational performance measurement.

Human Resource Management

Management practices and the development of talent play a crucial role in managing and improving productivity. The Centre is working with external collaborating organisations such as the CIPD and the newly-established Productivity Council to examine these aspects of productivity. This work draws upon previous research as part of the Centre for Performance-Led HR, which was one of the world's leading centres of applied research into human resources. This Centre delivered vital research which continues to have significant impact.

Latest Updates

LUMS to help deliver £3m Government-commissioned research

Lancaster University Management School will help deliver a major new research project to help mid-sized law and accountancy firms adopt artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to improve productivity and develop new business models. This project presents a tremendous opportunity to make a real impact on a vital and potentially world-leading sector of the UK economy. It will also show how the deeply engaged, multi-disciplinary ethos of our Centre for Productivity & Efficiency can be harnessed to tackle society’s grand challenges, based on excellent scholarship and research.

Research showcased at Parliamentary event

The Centre for Productivity and Efficiency was part of an event where Lancaster University took its world-leading research and business engagement programmes to the heart of Government. University representatives met with MPs and industry leaders at an event showcasing Lancaster’s crucial role in addressing the UK’s Industrial Strategy, held at the Houses of Parliament. SME leaders who have benefitted from the business support offered by Lancaster University were also in attendance, offering their personal stories about how engaging with the institution helped transform their organisations.